Post ASPNNrhaqX1zi0inDs by wjmaggos@liberal.city
(DIR) More posts by wjmaggos@liberal.city
(DIR) Post #ASPNNrGeShTqMS7HEG by TonyStark@democracy.town
2023-02-06T14:12:41Z
0 likes, 3 repeats
In 1985, Neil Postman wrote the book “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” where he observes, predicts, and warns about behaviors and trends that would lead Americans to become an empty people incapable of real thought and intolerant to anything that isn’t entertaining. Correctly, he worried that the USA would devolve into a dystopia where citizens demanded news, education, and politics to be amusing above all else and coverage of real, impactful issues would fall away.When these two headlines appear in the same publication on the same day, I think we’re getting there if we’re not already. If the administration is trying to talk about their real accomplishments and the press covering them wants to shut that down by pretending it’s a waste of time, let’s just say, and yes this is an understatement, that these two matters are related.
(DIR) Post #ASPNNrhaqX1zi0inDs by wjmaggos@liberal.city
2023-02-06T16:31:15Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@TonyStarkone is reporting, the other is opinion.
(DIR) Post #ASPPBOXldAwXi0J5Rw by GreenFire@climatejustice.social
2023-02-06T16:51:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@wjmaggos @TonyStark I'm not certain that poll result publishing is reporting per se.
(DIR) Post #ASQ3cTGu9laYMEsx0a by stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
2023-02-07T00:24:28Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@TonyStark The press also knows Biden stories get a fraction of the clicks as stuff about the GOP and left-wing popular figures like Mayor Pete, AOC, Katie Porter, etc. So making the State of the Union into something worth watching means also having to report on that speech -- which will get little engagement.The press is happy to let Biden fix the country, but doesn't want to report on it because it distracts from far more lucrative stories.
(DIR) Post #ASQ3oW03q2yAIJkXxo by Aviva_Gary@noc.social
2023-02-06T20:40:05Z
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@TonyStark News is a business... people will pay money to be amused and politicians don't want an educated populous...What you get with that stew (after you mix and hit it a few times with the spoon on the side) is a mix of 1984, A Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451... one where they don't want to give you the info and where people don't want it anyways because they want a court jester, not a lecture.
(DIR) Post #ASQ3oWp6mFnoqddJWy by stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
2023-02-07T00:26:42Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Aviva_Gary @TonyStark Left-wing politicians benefit from an educated populace, though. Time and again, it's the GOP that slashes education funding because their brand suffers when people have basic critical thinking skills.
(DIR) Post #ASQ421KCgVPdDAbx44 by darwinwoodka@mastodon.social
2023-02-06T17:15:17Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@TonyStark the press isn't doing the job of informing us that we want and need and then insists that we pay them to continue posting garbage "infotainment". I'm done with it.
(DIR) Post #ASQ421sEdydOuiX86q by stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
2023-02-07T00:29:07Z
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@darwinwoodka @TonyStark The press is certainly responsible for pushing infotainment, but I'm not sure we can dismiss the people from responsibility as well. Entertaining news and opinions get far higher engagement figures than fact-based reporting. The media certainly shares at least 50% of the blame, but shouldn't Americans gravitating to anger and fluff also be held partially responsible?
(DIR) Post #ASQ45U5QCqKzHaLgNE by AlisonCreekside@mstdn.ca
2023-02-06T19:34:01Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@TonyStark Great book from Postman. Now remembering that scene from Adam McKay's satirical film Don't Look UP in which 2 astronomers were on some tv show trying to tell viewers that the earth was going to be destroyed by a comet and the host responded, "We try to keep the bad news light here."That scene was later mirrored in real life on a UK breakfast show with a StopBigOil climate activist talking about climate catastrophe.
(DIR) Post #ASQ45UilqXoTFcl6hs by stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
2023-02-07T00:29:45Z
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@AlisonCreekside @TonyStark Toxic positivity in a nutshell.Some optimism is good, but never too much.
(DIR) Post #ASQ4DaiRRTpU9ySvtA by jzb@mastodon.social
2023-02-06T16:43:22Z
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@TonyStark "Amusing Ourselves" had a huge impact on me and I've probably re-read it half a dozen times since I stumbled on it in the 90s. I'd be deeply interested in what Postman would think about the media environment today, particularly his thoughts on social media. (No doubt horrified beyond belief.) But - one of those is very clearly labeled "Opinion." And the complaint is that the SOTU is more a dog + pony show than substance. So I'm not sure this is the best example of Postman's fears.
(DIR) Post #ASQ4DbHXKztzuosxai by GreenFire@climatejustice.social
2023-02-06T16:54:02Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@jzb @TonyStark The SOTU is a rare opportunity for a POTUS to get the attention of more Americans so I think it is a good tradition. I worry though that the Republicans have taken down the magnetometers and that I don't trust our Secret Service anymore though in this particular one.
(DIR) Post #ASQ4DcHvb1oF2K4mq8 by jzb@mastodon.social
2023-02-06T16:46:16Z
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@TonyStark The crux of the argument isn't that people shouldn't be informed by the SOTU - it's that typically the SOTU is exactly what Postman hated. Rather than informing the public and being an examination of the state of the union, it's a production and propaganda. (That I would likely *agree* with Biden + his actions/policies doesn't matter. It's not exactly going to be an unbiased report on how the country is doing.) Glad people are still talking about Postman + AOTD, though!
(DIR) Post #ASQ4EDxLXzvPrUjt2G by TonyStark@democracy.town
2023-02-06T16:53:47Z
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@GreenFire @wjmaggos@liberal.city Every day my stalkers come from the beyond of where they’ve been blocked. Reply guys with nothing to add. Would be great if they could all get a life.
(DIR) Post #ASQ4EEOduVl9E9Vga8 by GreenFire@climatejustice.social
2023-02-06T16:56:28Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@TonyStark Opinion pieces published by a news organization definitely impact what the audience thinks about an issue imo. I think that post-social media that journalism institutions like NYT and WaPo should entirely stop publishing opinions, but I suspect that they drive a lot of income though sadly.
(DIR) Post #ASQ4HTSUMnGaoHr5yy by TonyStark@democracy.town
2023-02-07T00:31:05Z
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@darwinwoodka @stopgopfox Yes, they should.
(DIR) Post #ASQ7tuU2dVYfUebJmy by TonyStark@democracy.town
2023-02-07T01:12:28Z
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@stopgopfox Good point, thank you.
(DIR) Post #ASQ82xMfIHzh2ESqg4 by KentNelson@democracy.town
2023-02-07T01:14:08Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@stopgopfox @darwinwoodka @TonyStark I think part of it's just plain laziness. A lot of folks just turn on the Fox and let it run all day. I've been loving this new thing on Mastodon, following a few really good journalists, hooked up a couple of great substack accounts, and have several subscriptions to some good on-line mags; and building a good old fashioned, real book library. Rarely ever turn on the mass media tube anymore. The difference is I'm really interested and I care, but it takes a lot of work. Example, this weekend my focus was on climate change, and the Inflation Reduction Act - how much of that did you hear in the media during the last week with all the crazy balloon carnival?
(DIR) Post #ASQ8L7vgkj3j0vVib2 by stopgopfox@libretooth.gr
2023-02-07T01:17:25Z
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@KentNelson @darwinwoodka @TonyStark That's true -- maybe it does just boil down to laziness. A balloon is an easy visual to push, so not as much work needs to go into explaining the concept.
(DIR) Post #ASQ9z9IlAciao5wxBg by KentNelson@democracy.town
2023-02-07T01:20:35Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@stopgopfox @darwinwoodka @TonyStark For entertainment it was great. I thought is was funny as hell. But for developing a better understanding about what's really going on around here - a big fat zero.
(DIR) Post #ASRBe3Cn2F9csvBVrs by GreenFire@climatejustice.social
2023-02-07T13:29:06Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@stopgopfox @KentNelson @darwinwoodka @TonyStark I do think that your point about the audience sharing the blame that the media organizations have is accurate too though.Companies have a strong motive to try to provide what their customers want them to provide so if they're not covering the issues as well as they should (which they're not imo) then it is even more important to support them when they do, but it is certainly not an easy thing to do after they failed so miserably to adjust to the new reality that the internet caused nearly complete rearrangement to their market.